highlands hammock state park

 

Affectionately known as “the Hammock,” this park is one of the most interesting places to see in Sebring (if you’re from Sebring and you’re reading this, you’re probably thinking “Yeah—because there’s nothing to see in Sebring,” but that’s not what I mean!), if you don’t have the privileges of spending your Sunday afternoons on the nearby cattle ranches like I do. My favorite part of the Hammock so far is the “catwalk,” a narrow elevated boardwalk through an ancient cypress swamp that usually yields some good views of alligators, birds, and spiders.

The following are two of my favorite pictures from the trail… look closely!

See the baby one on the right? :)

this is how january ends in florida

 

It’s almost gone already. The first month of the year…it started with a week of snow back home, and it’s ending with the deep evening shadows of August and the mellow golden light of September. It began with goodbyes to so many people I didn’t want to leave, and it’s ending with lazy Sunday afternoons among people I love to be around. I have found my “groove” here again in the endless summer and constant activity of being a Bible student in Florida.

A fond farewell to most unique January of my life so far. :)

it’s good to be alive

 

I love Sundays. I get to spend the whole morning and part of the evening in church, learning the Word and helping to video the sermons so that people in faraway places can learn it too. In between, I spend the entire afternoon at my favorite place in the state of Florida—the Watson Ranch—with so many people that I love. I’m blown away by the goodness of God in bringing them into my life. The afternoons that my roommate and I spend there are an oasis in our busy weeks, a time when we’re free to wander through the woods, eat amazing home-cooked food, spend hours talking about random things, and even play in the mud. The sunshine filtering through the Spanish moss… the sudden downpours… the familiar scent of marshy land… I love it all. It makes me so happy. I am so undeserving to even be looked upon by God, let alone showered with beautiful people and places and moments like these!

It’s good to be alive.